When image pickup is performed by a conventional digital camera in an environment such as a dark room, the image pickup operation is often performed by emitting auxiliary light (stroboscopic light or flash light) to compensate for underexposure. Further, as described in JP2001-177732A and JP2001-92955A, a typical digital camera includes a so-called white balance function. Moreover, JP2003-299109A discloses a method of detecting a tint of peripheral light prior to stroboscopic light emission and aligning the color of the stroboscopic light itself with the peripheral light.